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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26224024">Do you even lift?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazylyz/pseuds/lazylyz'>lazylyz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Pining, Sparring, clover and elm are workout buddies, qrow is just a thinly veiled spike spiegel, wingwoman elm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:22:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26224024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazylyz/pseuds/lazylyz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When they go to the gym, Elm usually spots for Clover and he spots for her, or rather he’s supposed to be spotting her, but he keeps looking at Qrow.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clover Ebi &amp; Elm Ederne, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here, have yet another terribly throw together oneshot.<br/>Edit: it's no longer a oneshot...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Elm knew something was up the moment Clover asked if they could push up their gym time to earlier in the day. She figured it came from him wanting to avoid several of the women, the ones who would ogle and pester to no end, but as he spotted her lifts on the bench press, she started to second guess her suspicion.</p><p>He was distracted. Clearly not paying attention as she hooked the bar into the brackets, letting the weight clang and rattle against the stanchion. Clover snapped his gaze back to the bench press, eyes wide and hands ready to catch the bar.</p><p>“Elm, sorry about that.” The panic in his voice diminished as soon as he realized the bar wasn’t going to pop free.</p><p>“No worries,” She said, sitting up and glancing at where Clover’s attention kept gravitating towards. To her surprise, she found Qrow, stretching near the punching bags. Loose-fitting pants and top hid the muscular power she knew was underneath as he pulled his legs into increasingly higher stretches.</p><p>Elm looked back to Clover, but he was in the process of setting the weights on the bar, however, every few seconds he would glance over in Qrow’s direction, eyes flitting up and down Qrow’s form. She laughed, rolling her eyes at her captain. The man was hopeless sometimes.</p><p>They traded places, and she stood at Clover’s head, hands resting beside the bar just in case he needed assistance. While he lifted the first few reps, Elm took the moment to watch Qrow out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>Still in the middle of a stretch routine, Qrow arched his leg up and over his head with precision and poise, pressing his hands against the punching bag to balance. He held the pose for an extended period and then gracefully brought it back down, setting his feet before copying the stretch with the other leg.</p><p>Though she may not have been attracted to men, Elm did understand why Clover was so enraptured. Qrow had a defined grace to his movements despite the rugged exterior, and after working with the kids, she knew he had a soft heart too.</p><p>Elm drew her attention back to Clover. A small bead of sweat formed at the edge of his temple as he finished the last rep. She helped him left the bar to settle it onto the bracket.</p><p>“Ready for squats?”</p><p>Clover grunted in response, wiping his brow with the bottom of his tank top. He followed her over to the next station, letting her take the lead and set up the weights. He leaned against the stanchion, eyes gazing into the mirrored wall in front.</p><p>An audible grunt tumbled from Clover’s lips as his mouth fell open. Elm followed his gaze in the mirror and understood immediately why her spotter’s attention was transfixed elsewhere yet again.</p><p>Qrow was no longer stretching against the punching bag. Instead, he was on the floor with one leg stretched out in front of him and the other in perfect opposition behind him. Twisting his torso, he effortlessly transitioned into a middle split, legs splayed out to either side.</p><p>Elm hooked the last plate weight into place, making sure it was secure before straightening to her full height. She clapped Clover on the shoulder, and he startled.</p><p>“Huh?” Clover questioned, jaw slack and eyes unfocused. He gave his head a shake, furrowing his brow.</p><p>“You’re up next. See if you can beat my max.”</p><p>“Uh, right,” he said, taking her place. He rested the barbell across his shoulders before slowly lowering into a squat.</p><p>Elm took up her place behind him, her line of sight catching where Qrow sat stretching. He hadn’t moved on from his middle split, so he remained facing their direction. Elm quickly noted his eye line, his gaze out of focus, staring in their direction. Beside her, Clover raised out of his squat, muscles bulging under the tension. She let out a snort, helping him place the bar back on the holder.</p><p>“What?” He asked. “You didn’t think I would be able to do it.”</p><p>“No, no. Not that,” she said, waving him off. “I just realized the viewership has gone up.”</p><p>Clover blushed, glancing over at the treadmills. He scratched at the back of his head before turning back to her.</p><p>“I had hoped coming here at an earlier time would dissuade some of them.”</p><p>“Nah, just different ones.”</p><p>“Different ones?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.</p><p>Laughing, she pushed Clover out of the way and took her place at the bar. She settled her stance and then looked him in the eye through the mirror.</p><p>“You,” she said, readying the bar across her shoulders.</p><p>“Me?” He squeaked out, choking on his own spittle.</p><p>“I know he’s got legs for days, but that doesn’t mean you can shirk your spotting duties while we’re lifting,” Elm said, giving Clover a knowing smile. She settled the bar back down on the brackets before addressing Clover. “If you want to gawk, get on the treadmill like the sensible housewives.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the occupied treadmills and ellipticals, where there were definitely more people than normal. “At least they’re making an attempt to work out while multitasking.”</p><p>He had the wherewithal to blush as his eyes drifted back to Qrow.</p><p>“If you can’t stop looking over there, you could just go workout with him?”</p><p>Clover whipped his head back around, eyes wide at being caught. He cleared his throat, “But we’re…”</p><p>“Clover,” She gripped him by the shoulders, “I’m your wing woman, remember. If I think you’ve got a shot, you’ve got a shot.”</p><p>“I thought that applied to nights out.”</p><p>“Well, you have never been so enraptured with someone at the gym. You’re usually all business.”</p><p>“Because it’s weird if someone hits on you at the gym.”</p><p>“So, don’t hit on him. Just work out with the guy, spar, or something.”</p><p>“Elm, I don’t know…” he trailed off, eyes glancing in the mirror.</p><p>“Casper!” Elm called out, spotting the manager of the gym out of the corner of her eye. It had been some time since she’d caught up with him, but he tended to be chatty, so they usually tried to not call him over in the middle of a workout. This time, however, she knew it would be entertaining.</p><p>Casper, chuckling at Elm and Clover, sidled up to the squat machine. “You’ve got some competition, Clover,” he said, leaning against the stanchion. “You should have seen the other day. Worse than you. I swear to the gods those women practically sprinted to the treadmills when he started doing his routine.”</p><p>“Routine?” Elm said with interest, watching Clover’s eyebrows raise.</p><p>“Dudes like a ballerina, but his kicks look deadly. Wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of one of those. Just wait till he starts practicing against the bag.”</p><p>Clover numbly nodded along still not quite engaged in the conversation. Elm smirked, briefly remember Clover’s stint in the boxing ring.</p><p>“Casper, you still got those strike pads?” Elm asked.</p><p>“For sparing? Yeah, they’re in the storage room. Why?”</p><p>“Just thinking,” she said, glancing at Clover.</p><p>“No, Elm. I haven’t done that in ages. I’m not just going to walk over there-”</p><p>“Ah, that would be great, seeing you spar again,” Casper all but shouted. He moseyed off to the storage room, leaving a half fuming Clover and an ecstatic Elm.</p><p>“Elm, you can’t be serious,” he said, pulling at her elbow. She turned a bright smile in his direction and shook off his hand.</p><p>“Trust me.”</p><p>“Elm.”</p><p>“Clover.”</p><p>They stared each other down till Casper wandered back over with a pair of ancient-looking strike pads. He flipped the handles out to Clover, who hesitated for a moment before grabbing them. He sent a withering glare at Elm before leaving her and Casper.</p><p>She watched him approach Qrow. To anyone else, his gait would seem self-assured, but Elm knew otherwise. The tense line in his shoulders, the slight downturn of his head. He was nervous, probably thinking he would get rejected, but Elm knew better since he wasn’t the only one with wandering eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>eehhh it's just a short update since i'm working on fgwe stuff.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yoo happened to get the afternoon off for my birthday today so writing commenced. A lot of you were horny for a gym sparing session, and I mean, I am too. Though I know nothing about actual sparring or the different types of martial arts sooo…</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Suave and confident, Clover strode across the gym in Qrow’s direction. If it had been any other person, Qrow would have paid them no mind, but it was hard for him to ignore Clover’s presence. He briefly wondered if Clover caught him stealing a glance, but the thought left his head when Clover stepped onto the mat where he was stretching.</p><p>Qrow felt his heart rate pick up when Clover came to a halt at his feet with a straight back and an easy grin on his face. He placed a hand on his hip, gestured with the pads, and asked, “Think you can get it up?”</p><p>It took everything Qrow had not to make the statement dirty, but to his dismay, his brain still went there. He cleared his throat, nodding in the direction of the strike pads held loosely in Clover’s hand. “Do you even know how to use those?” He asked.</p><p>“Of course, I do,” Clover said with a petulant cry. “You think all this muscle is just for show?”</p><p>Qrow raised a brow and let his eyes wander over Clover’s bulk. There was no doubt Clover’s muscle mass was cultivated for power and control over his weapon, Qrow just wasn’t sure if his fighting was reinforced with different hand to hand techniques.</p><p>“I used to box among other things,” Clover said, flexing a bicep and winking in Qrow’s direction.</p><p>“Used to? They didn’t want to let you back in the ring, lucky boy?” Qrow asked, swinging his leg around. He lent back on his palms and narrowed his eyes up at Clover.</p><p>“Something like that,” Clover replied. “So, are you up for a spar?”</p><p>He then held his hand out in an offer to pull Qrow up off the ground. Scoffing, Qrow shook his head. Clover went to retract his hand, but Qrow grabbed it, pulling himself up and into Clover space.</p><p>“You think you can keep up, big guy?”</p><p>Clover dropped his hand and raised the 5strike pads, mimicking a fighting position. “Of course I can. You ready, or do you need more time getting loose?”</p><p>Qrow quickly assessed Clover’s posture, noting his stance was much like a boxer's, square and wide. Since this wasn't a full-on spar, Qrow figured he wouldn't show all his skills, but it didn’t hurt to test it.</p><p>The marks were held in a perfect position for a series of starting kicks or jabs, so Qrow wasted no time taking a step back and settling his stance. With his lead foot planted, he turned, striking out with his back leg, and hit the mark on the center. Clover smirked, letting his wrist give before setting the mark up again for a repeated strike.</p><p>After working the same strike several times alternating his leading leg, Qrow took a step back and then a skip forward, striking out with his front leg. The crack echoed across the gym, drawing attention from the rest of the gym-goers.</p><p>Clover’s eyes gleamed with intensity, and he adjusted his hold on the pad, altering the angle slightly. Qrow repeated the kick, letting his forward momentum deal the strike.</p><p>It felt strange for some reason to be practicing against Clover. They had been working side by side in the field for several weeks now. Clover favored taking a support role to Qrow’s scythe-wielding, and their dynamic worked quite well, but Qrow never got to see what Clover was capable of in a one on one fight.</p><p>Qrow really wanted to see what Clover was capable of in a one on one fight.</p><p>He spun, twisting his body, letting the momentum carry his leg around. He struck the pad with his heel and swiftly followed it up with an opposite leg strike. Clover, quick to follow the movements, sidestepped, letting the pads take the blows. Qrow smirked, letting his stance loosen.</p><p>“Not bad, shamrock.”</p><p>“Trying to keep me on my toes?”</p><p>“Something like that,” Qrow replied. He followed it up with another set of kicks, happy to see Clover adjusting to each for with ease. They ran through several different forms until they were breathless.</p><p>“Now I want to know what you’re like in a real fight,” Qrow said between gasps.</p><p>“Like in the ring?” Clover asked. Qrow nodded. “I haven’t done that in some time.”</p><p>“Really? All huntsman work and no play?”</p><p>Clover gave him a flat look, dropping his guard low.</p><p>“One spar. No weapons. No holds barred.”</p><p>Clover game him an assessing scan. “Mixed styles too?” He asked.</p><p>“But of course. I never fight fair,” Qrow said with a wink.</p><p>Clover wiped the sweat at his brow with the bottom of his shirt and snorted at Qrow’s comment. Qrow felt his eyes drawn to the motion, glad he had just been training because he was sure his cheeks were bright red.</p><p>“Well, maybe you might just get lucky,” Clover said, meeting Qrow’s gaze. “But that would be for another day. I’d say we’ve done enough damage here.”</p><p>Qrow cleared his throat, noting the growing crowd at the weight machines. If less of a crowd was what Clover wanted, then Qrow would take what he could get.</p>
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